Amos 7 Outlines

Vision of the Locusts (v.1~3)

Vision of the Fire (v.4~6)

Vision of the Plumb Line (v.7~9)

Amaziah’s Complaint (v.10~17)

New King James Version (NKJV)

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 7

In
this and the two following chapters are the visions of Amos, in number five;
three of which are contained in this chapter, and with which it begins. The
first is of the grasshoppers or locusts eating up the later grass of the land,
which are stopped at the intercession of the prophet, Amos 7:1; the
second is of fire the Lord called for to contend by, whose devouring flames are
made to cease by the same interposition, Amos 7:4; and the
other is of the plumbline, signifying the utter destruction of the people of
Israel, according to the righteous judgment of God, Amos 7:7; upon the
delivery of which prophecies and visions, the priest of Bethel forms a charge
against the prophet to the king; and advises Amos to flee into Judea, and
prophesy there, and not at Bethel, being willing to be rid of him at any rate, Amos 7:10; next
follows the prophet's vindication of himself showing his divine call to the
prophetic office, and his mission and express order he had from the Lord to
prophesy unto Israel, Amos 7:14; and
concludes with a denunciation of divine judgments on the priest's family, and
upon the whole land of Israel, Amos 7:16.

Amos
7:1Thus the Lord God showed me:
Behold, He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed it
was the late crop after the king’s mowings.

YLT1Thus hath the Lord Jehovah
shewed me, and lo, He is forming locusts at the beginning of the ascending of
the latter growth, and lo, the latter growth [is] after the mowings of the
king;

Thus hath the Lord showed unto me,.... What follows in this
and the two chapters, before the prophet delivered what he heard from the Lord;
now what he saw, the same thing, the ruin of the ten tribes, is here expressed
as before, but in a different form; before in prophecy, here in vision, the
more to affect and work upon the hearts of the people:

and, behold, he formed grasshoppers; or "locusts"F21גבי "ecce fictor locustarum", Pagninus, Montanus;
so Munster, Vatablus, Cocceius, Burkius. , as the word is rendered, Isaiah 33:4; and so
the Septuagint here, and other versions. Kimchi interprets it, and, behold, a
collection or swarm of locusts; and the Targum, a creation of them. Though Aben
Ezra takes the word to be a verb, and not a noun, and the sense to be,
agreeably to our version, he showed me the blessed God, who was forming
locusts; it appeared to Amos, in the vision of prophecy, as if the Lord was
making locusts, large and great ones, and many of them; not that this was
really done, only visionally, and was an emblem of the Assyrian army, prepared
and ready to devour the land of Israel; see Joel 1:4. And this
was

in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo,
it was the latter growth after the king's mowings; when the
first grass was mowed down, and the first crop gathered in, for the use of the
king's cattle; as the later grass was just springing up, and promised a second
crop, these grasshoppers or locusts were forming, which threatened the
destruction of it. This must be towards the close of the summer, and when
autumn was coming on, at which time naturalists tell us that locusts breed. So
AristotleF23Hist. Animal. l. 5. c. 28, 29. says, they bring forth at
the going out of the summer; and of one sort of them he says, their eggs perish
in the waters of autumn, or when it is a wet autumn; but in a dry autumn there
is a large increase of them: and so Pliny saysF24Nat. Hist. l. 11.
c. 29. , they breed in the autumn season and lie under the earth all the
winter, and appear in the spring: and Columella observesF25Apud
Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 4. c. 6. col. 484. , that locusts are most
suitably and commodiously fed with grass in autumn; which is called
"cordum", or the latter grass, that comes or springs late in the
year; such as this now was. The Mahometans speakF26Vid. Bochart, ib.
col. 486. much of God being the Maker of locusts; they say he made them of the
clay which was left at the formation of Adam; and represent him saying, I am
God, nor is there any Lord of locusts besides me, who feed them, and send them
for food to the people, or as a punishment to them, as I please: they call them
the army of the most high God, and will not suffer any to kill them; See Gill
on Revelation 9:3;
whether all this is founded on this passage of Scripture, I cannot say;
however, there is no reason from thence to make the locusts so peculiarly the
workmanship of God as they do, since this was only in a visionary way; though
it may be observed, that it is with great propriety, agreeable to the nature of
these creatures, that God is represented as forming them at such a season of
the year. Some, by "the king's mowings", understand the carrying
captive the ten tribes by Shalmaneser king of Assyria; so Ribera; after which
things were in a flourishing state, or at least began to be so, in the two
tribes under Hezekiah, when they were threatened with ruin by the army of
Sennacherib, from which there was a deliverance: but as this vision, and the
rest, only respect the ten tribes of Israel, "the king's mowings" of
the first crop may signify the distresses of the people of Israel, in the times
of Jehoahaz king of Israel, by Hazael and Benhadad kings of Syria, 2 Kings 13:3; when
things revived again, like the shooting up of the later grass, in the reign of
Joash, and especially of Jeroboam his son, who restored the coast of Israel,
the Lord having compassion on them, 2 Kings 13:25; but
after his death things grew worse; his son reigned but six months, and he that
slew him but one; and in the reign of Menahem, that succeeded him, an invasion
of the land was made by Pul king of Assyria, 2 Kings 15:19;
which is generally thought to be intended here. Or else, as others, it may
refer to the troubles in the interregnum, after the death of Jeroboam, to his
son's mounting the throne, the space of eleven years, when, and afterwards,
Israel was in a declining state.

Amos 7:22 And
so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said: “O
Lord God,
forgive, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small!”YLT2and it hath come to pass,
when it hath finished to consume the herb of the land, that I say: `Lord
Jehovah, forgive, I pray Thee, How doth Jacob arise -- for he [is] small?'

And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of
eating the grass of the land,.... That is, the grasshoppers or locusts;
when in the vision it seemed to the prophet that almost all the grass of the
land was eaten up, and they were going to seize upon the corn, and other fruits
of the earth: this signifies not Sennacherib's invasion of the land of Judea,
but Pul's invasion of the land of Israel, whose army seemed like these locusts;
and spreading themselves over the land, threatened it with desolation, as these
locusts seemed to have wholly consumed all the grass of the land; then the
prophet said what follows:

then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee; the sins of
the people, as the Targum, which were the cause of these locusts coming, or of
the Assyrian army invading the land; and the prophet prays that God would avert
this judgment, signified in this vision, or remove it, which is often in
Scripture meant by the forgiveness of sin, Exodus 32:31; this
is the business of the prophets and ministers of the Lord, to intercede for a
people when ruin is near; and happy is that people, when they have such to
stand up in the breach for them. The argument the prophet uses is,

by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small; or
"little"F1קטן
"parvulus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "parvus", Junius
& Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius. ; like the first shooting up of the
grass, after it has been own: or, as NoldiusF2מייקוםיעקב "quomodo
(alias) surgeret Jacob?" Concord. Ebr. Part. p. 60. No. 1979.
"quomodo consistet?" Liveleus; "quomodo surget Jacob?"
Drusius. renders it, "how otherwise should Jacob stand?" and
so Kimchi, how should there be a standing for him? that is, unless God forgives
his sin, and turns away his wrath, how shall he stand up under the weight of
his sins, which must lie upon him, unless forgiven? and how shall he bear the
wrath and indignation of God for them? and so if any sinner is not forgiven,
how shall he stand before God to serve and worship him now? or at his tribunal
with confidence hereafter? or sustain his wrath and displeasure to all
eternity? see Psalm 130:3; or,
"who of" or "in Jacob shall stand"F3"Quis
staret, Jahacobo?" Junius & Tremellius; "quis remaneret
Jacobo?" Piscator. ? not one will be left; all must be cut off, if God
forgive not; for all are sinners, there are none without sin: or, "who
shall stand for Jacob?"F4"Quis stabit pro Jacobo?"
Mercerus. or intercede for him? it will be to no purpose, if God is inexorable:
so the Targum,

"who
will stand and ask "pardon" for their sins?'

or,
"who will raise up Jacob?"F5"Quis suseitabit
Jahacob?" V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus. from that low condition in
which he is, or likely to be in, if God forgive not, and does not avert the
judgment threatened, to a high and glorious state of prosperity and happiness;
for, if all are cut off, there will be none left to be instruments of such a
work: "for he is small"; few in number, and greatly weakened
by one calamity or another; and, if this should take place, would be fewer and
weaker still. So the church of Christ, which is often signified by Jacob, is
sometimes in a very low estate; the number of converts few; has but a little
strength to bear afflictions, perform duty, and withstand enemies; it is a day
of small things with it, with respect to light and knowledge, and the exercise
of grace, especially faith; when some like the prophet are concerned for it, by
whom it shall arise; the God of Jacob can cause it to arise, and can raise up
instruments for such service, and make his ministers, and the ministry of the
word and ordinances, means of increasing the number, stature, spiritual light,
knowledge, grace, and strength of his people.

Amos 7:33 So the Lord relented
concerning this. “It shall not be,” said the Lord.

YLT3Jehovah hath repented of
this, `It shall not be,' said Jehovah.

The Lord repented for this,.... He heard the prayer
of the prophet, and at his intercession averted, the threatened judgment; thus
the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, James 5:16; this is
spoken after the manner of men; as men, when they repent of a thing, desist
from it, so the Lord desisted from going on with this judgment; he did not
change his mind, but changed the dispensations of his providence according to
his mind and will:

it shall not be, saith the Lord; these grasshoppers or
locusts, the Assyrian army, shall not at this time destroy the land of Israel:
Pul king of Assyria took a sum of money of the king of Israel, and so turned
back, and stayed not in the land, 2 Kings 15:19.

Amos 7:44 Thus
the Lord God
showed me: Behold, the Lord God called for conflict by fire, and it consumed
the great deep and devoured the territory.

YLT4Thus hath the Lord Jehovah
shewed me, and lo, the Lord Jehovah is calling to contend by fire, and it
consumeth the great deep, yea, it hath consumed the portion, and I say:

Thus hath the Lord showed unto me,.... Another vision after
this manner:

and, behold, the Lord God called to contend by fire; gave out that
he would have a controversy with his people Israel, and proclaimed the time when
he would try the cause with them, and that by fire: or he called his family, as
Jarchi; that is, his angels, as Kimchi, to cause fire to descend upon Israel,
as upon Sodom and Gomorrah; so other Rabbins Kimchi mentions: or, as he
interprets it, the scorching heat of the sun, like fire that restrained the
rain, dried up the plants, and lessened the waters of the river, and so brought
on a general drought, and in consequence famine: or rather a foreign army,
involving them in war, burning their cities and towns; see Amos 1:4;

and it devoured the great deep; it seemed, as if it did;
as the fire from heaven, in Elijah's time, licked up the water in the trench, 1 Kings 18:38; so
this, coming at God's command, seemed to dry up the whole ocean; by which may
be meant the multitude of people, nations, and kingdoms, subdued by the
Assyrians; see Revelation 17:15;

and did eat up a part; a part of a field, as
Jarchi and Aben Ezra; of the king's field, Amos 7:1; as
Kimchi; showing, as he observes, that the reigning king was a bad king, and
that this was for his sin: or rather a part of the land of Israel; and so
refers, as is generally thought, to Tiglathpileser's invasion of the land, who
carried captive a part of it, 2 Kings 15:29.

Amos 7:55 Then
I said: “O Lord God,
cease, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small!”YLT5`Lord Jehovah, cease, I
pray Thee, How doth Jacob arise -- for he [is] small?'

Then said I, O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee,.... From
destroying the land; suffer not this calamity to proceed any further; using the
same argument as before:

Amos 7:66 So the Lord relented
concerning this. “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.

YLT6Jehovah hath repented of
this, `It also shall not be,' said the Lord Jehovah.

The Lord repented for this,.... He heard the
prophet's prayer, and desisted from going on with the threatened destruction:

this also shall not be, saith the Lord God; the whole
land shall not be destroyed, only a part of it carried captive.

Amos 7:77 Thus
He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line,
with a plumb line in His hand.

YLT7Thus hath He shewed me, and
lo, the Lord is standing by a wall [made according to] a plumb-line, and in His
hand a plumb-line;

Thus he showed me,.... A third vision, which was in the
following manner:

and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a
plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand: this "wall"
was the people of Israel, who were built up as a wall, firm and strong; and so
stood against their enemies, while supported by the Lord, and he stood by them.
The Septuagint version is, "an adamantine wall". In their constitution,
both civil and ecclesiastic, they were formed according to the good and
righteous laws of God, which may be signified by the plumbline; and so the
Targum renders it, "the wall of judgment". And now the Lord appears
standing upon this wall, to trample it down, and not to support it; and with a
plumbline in his hand, to examine and try whether this wall was as it was first
erected; whether it did not bulge out, and vary from its former structure, and
was not according to the line and rule of his divine word, which was a rule of
righteousness.

Amos 7:88 And
the Lord
said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord
said: “Behold, I am setting a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel; I
will not pass by them anymore.YLT8and Jehovah saith unto me,
`What art thou seeing, Amos?' And I say, `A plumb-line;' and the Lord saith:
`Lo, I am setting a plumb-line in the midst of My people Israel, I do not add
any more to pass over to it.

And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou?.... This
question was put to him, the rather, since he was silent, and did not upon this
vision, as the former, make any supplication to the Lord; as also, because this
vision portended something of moment and importance, which he would have the
prophet attend to:

and I said, a plumbline; the same word as before,
and is differently rendered, as already observed. The Vulgate Latin version
renders it, "a plasterer's" or "mason's trowel"; with which
they lay their plaster and mortar on in building: the Septuagint, an adamant:
and which, by PlinyF6Nat. Hist. l. 3. c. 4. , is called
"anachites"; a word in sound near to this here used: the Targum
renders it, "judgment": but Jarchi and Aben Ezra observe, that in the
Arabic tongue it signifies lead or tin, as it doesF7"plumbum,
sive nigrum, sive album puriusque", Camusus; "plumbum et
stannum", Ibn Maruph apud Golium, col. 176. Avicenna apud Castel. col.
161. Vid. Hottinger. Smegma Oriental. l. 1. c. 7. p. 122. ; and so a line with
lead at the end of it;

then said the Lord, behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of
my people Israel; take an exact account of their actions, and see how they agree
or disagree with the rule of the word; and in the most strict and righteous
manner deal with them for their sins and transgressions, "lay judgment to
the line, and righteousness to the plummet", Isaiah 28:17;

I will not again pass by them any more; wink at their
sins, and overlook their transgressions, by not correcting and punishing for
them; or will not pardon them, but inflict punishment on them. So the Targum,

"behold,
I will exercise judgment in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not add
any more to pardon them.'

Though
some understand it of God's making such an utter end of them, that he should no
more "pass through them"F8לאאוסיףעודעבורלו "non adjiciam ultra pertransire eum",
Montanus; "non ultra per eum transibit", some in Mercerus. , to
destroy them, having done it at once, and thoroughly.

Amos 7:99 The
high places of Isaac shall be desolate, And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be
laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.”

YLT9And desolated have been
high places of Isaac, And sanctuaries of Israel are wasted, And I have risen
against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.'

And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate,.... Such as
the ten tribes of Israel, who descended from Isaac, built at Beersheba, in
imitation of Isaac, and pleading his example; who worshipped there, though not
idols, as they, but the true God; and in commemoration of his being bound upon
an altar on Mount Moriah: but these, as the Septuagint version renders it, were
"high places of laughter", ridiculous in the eyes of the Lord,
despised by him, and so should be made desolate:

and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; the temples
built for the calves at Dan and Bethel, and other places:

and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword; or, as the
Targum,

"I
will raise up against the house of Jeroboam those that slay with the sword;'

this
was fulfilled by Shallum, who conspired against Zachariah the son of Jeroboam,
and slew him, and reigned in his stead, which put an end to the family of
Jeroboam, 2 Kings 15:10.

Amos 7:1010 Then
Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has
conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able
to bear all his words.

YLT10And Amaziah priest of
Beth-El sendeth unto Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, `Amos hath conspired
against thee in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear
all his words,

Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel,.... The Targum calls him
the prince or president of Bethel; and the word used signifies both a prince
and a priest; and very probably this man had the care of the civil as well as
religious matters in Bethel. Aben Ezra styles him the priest of Baal; he was
one that succeeded the priests that Jeroboam the son of Nebat placed here, to
offer sacrifices to the calf he set up in this place, 1 Kings 12:32; who
hearing the above three visions of Amos delivered, and fearing that he would
alienate the people from the idolatrous worship he was at the head of, and
frighten them from an attendance on it, which would lessen his esteem with the
people, and also his worldly gain and profit; and observing that Amos did not
make any intercession for the averting of the judgment threatened in the last
vision, as in the other two, and which particularly concerned the king's
family: he

sent to Jeroboam king of Israel; either letters or
messengers, or both; who, it seems, was not at this time at Bethel, but at some
other place; perhaps Samaria, which was not a great way from hence:

saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the land
of Israel; he speaks of Amos as if he was well known to the king, and
perhaps he might be, having long prophesied in the land of Israel, and near the
court; and represents him as a seditious person, not as affecting the crown and
kingdom himself, but as stirring up a spirit, of rebellion among the people;
taking off their affections from their prince, and them from their allegiance
to him, by representing him as a wicked person that would in a little time be
cut off; and this he did not privately, and in a corner, but publicly, in the
midst of the land, and before all the people of Israel; and this was no new and
unusual thing to represent good man, and especially ministers of the word, as
enemies to the civil government, when none are truer friends to it, or more
quiet under it:

the land is not able to bear all his words; either to
withstand the power of them; they will have such an influence upon the people,
if timely care is not taken, as to cause them both to reject the established
religion and worship at Dan and Bethel, and to rise up in arms against the
civil government, and dethrone him the king; such terrible things he says to
the people, as will frighten them, and put them upon taking such measures as
these: or else the prophet's words were so intolerable, that his good subjects,
the inhabitants of the land could not bear them; and if he did not give orders
himself to take away his life, they would rise up against him, and dispatch him
themselves.

Amos 7:1111 For
thus Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, And Israel shall surely
be led away captive From their own land.’”

YLT11for thus said Amos: By
sword die doth Jeroboam, And Israel certainly removeth from off its land.'

For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword,.... Which was
not saying truth; for Amos said not that Jeroboam should die by the sword, but
that God would raise up the sword against his house or family; nor did Jeroboam
die by the sword, but his son Zachariah did:

and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land; this was
true; Amos did say this, and he afterwards confirms it. This is the amount of
the charge brought against the prophet, which has some truth and some falsehood
mixed together; and by which method the priest hoped to gain his point, and get
the prophet either banished or put to death.

Amos 7:1212 Then
Amaziah said to Amos: “Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat
bread, And there prophesy.YLT12And Amaziah saith unto
Amos, `Seer, go flee for thee unto the land of Judah, and eat there bread, and
there thou dost prophesy;

Also Amaziah said unto Amos,.... Either at the same
time; or, it may be, after he had waited for the king's answer, and received
none; or what did not come up to his expectations and wishes. We have no
account of any answer the king returned; who either gave no heed to the
representations of the priest, or had a better opinion of, he prophet, and did
not credit the things imputed to him; which the priest observing, took another
way to get rid of the prophet, and that by flattery:

O thou seer; that seest visions, and foretells things to come. This title,
which of right belonged to him, and is given to the true prophets of God
sometimes, is here given to Amos, either seriously or ironically:

go, flee thee away into the land of Judah; to which he
belonged, and where the temple stood, and the true worship of God was
performed; and where the king, princes, and people, were on his side of the
question; and where his prophecies would be received, and he caressed for them,
being against the ten tribes, with whom they were at variance, and where also he
would be safe; for he suggests, that, in giving this advice, he consulted his
good and safety; for, if he stayed here long, King Jeroboam would certainly
take away his life; and therefore he advised him to flee with all haste to his
own country:

and there eat bread, and prophesy there: he took him
for a mercenary man like himself, and that he prophesied for bread; which he
intimates he would never be able to get in the land of Israel, but in all
probability might in the land of Judea.

Amos 7:1313 But
never again prophesy at Bethel, For it is the king’s sanctuary, And it is
the royal residence.”

YLT13and [at] Beth-El do not add
to prophesy any more, for it [is] the king's sanctuary, and it [is] the royal
house.'

But prophesy not again any more at Bethel,.... He might
prophesy any where, if he did not there, for what the priest cared, that so his
honour and interest were not hurt. The reasons he gave were,

for it is the king's chapel; or "sanctuary"F9מקדש "sanctuarium", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus,
Mercerus, Junius & Tremellius. Piscator, Drusius, Cocceius. ; where a
temple was built for the idol calf, and where the king worshipped it, and
attended all other religious service:

and it is the king's court; or "the house of
the kingdom"F11וביתממלכההוא "et domus regni
est", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Cocceius; "domus
regia", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ; the seat of it, where the
king had a royal palace, and sometimes resided here, and kept his court, as
well as at Samaria; often coming hither to worship, it being nearer to him than
Dan, where the other calf was placed; intimating hereby that the king would
never suffer such a troublesome man as he to be so near him; and by prophesying
to interrupt him, either in his religious or civil affairs; and therefore
advises him by all means to depart, if he had any regard to his life or peace.

Amos 7:1414 Then
Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: “I was no prophet, Nor was I
a son of a prophet, But I was a sheepbreeder[a] And a
tender of sycamore fruit.YLT14And Amos answereth and
saith unto Amaziah, `I [am] no prophet, nor a prophet's son [am] I, but a
herdsman I [am], and a cultivator of sycamores,

Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah,.... With much
freedom, boldness, and intrepidity, and yet with modesty and humility; not at
all moved by his frowns or his flattery:

I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son: he was not a
prophet originally, or from his youth, as Kimchi; he was not born and bred one;
neither his father was a prophet, by whom he could get any instructions in the
mystery of prophesying; nor was he a disciple of any of the prophets, or
brought up in any of their schools as some were; he was no prophet till the
Lord called him immediately, at once, from his secular employment to this
office; and therefore did not take it up to get a livelihood by Jarchi and Aben
Ezra interpret it, that he was not one of the false prophets that prophesied
for hire, and took a reward:

but I was an herdsman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit; that is,
originally: this was the employment he was brought up in from his youth, and was
in it when he was called to be a prophet; he looked after cattle, both great
and small; and at a certain time of the year used, to gather sycamore fruit,
which was a kind of figs; and by, its name had the resemblance both of figs and
mulberries. Some take it to be what were called Egyptian figs; these he
gathered, either for the use of his masters, or for food for himself, or for
the cattle, or both: or he was an "opener" of them, as the
Septuagint; he cut, them, and made incisions in them; for, as PlinyF12Nat.
Hist. l. 13. c. 7. , DioscoridesF13L. 1. c. 143. , and TheophrastusF14Hist.
l. 4. c. 2. observe, this fruit must be cut or scratched, either with the nail,
or with iron, or it will not ripen; but, four days after being scratched or
cut, will become ripe. Mr. NordenF15Travels in Egypt and Nubis, vol.
1. p. 79, 80. , a late traveller in Egypt, has given us a very particular
account of this tree and its fruit.

"This
sycamore (he says) is of the height of a beech, and bears its fruit in a manner
quite different from other trees; it has them on the trunk itself, which shoots
out little sprigs in form of grape stalks; at the end of which grow the fruit
close to one another, almost like bunches of grapes. The tree is always green,
and bears fruit several times in the year, without observing any certain
seasons: for I have seen (says he) some sycamores that have given fruit two
months after others. The fruit has the figure and smell of real figs, but is
inferior to them in the taste, having a disgusting sweetness. Its colour is a
yellow, inclining to an ochre, shadowed by a flesh colour. In the inside it
resembles the common figs, excepting that it has a blackish colouring with
yellow spots. This sort of tree is pretty common in Egypt; the people for the greater
part live upon its fruit, and think themselves well regaled when they have a
piece of bread, a couple of sycamore figs, and a pitcher filled with water from
the Nile.'

This
account in several things agrees with what PlinyF16Nat. Hist. l. 13.
c. 7. and SolinusF17Polyhistor. c. 45. relate of this tree and its
fruit; very likely there might be many of these trees in Judea; there seem to
have been great numbers of them in Solomon's time, 1 Kings 10:27; and
perhaps it was one of these that Zacchaeus climbed, in order to see Christ, Luke 19:4; for this
sort of trees delight in vales and plains, such as were the plains of Jericho;
and in the TalmudF18T. Bab Pesachim, fol. 56. 1. & 57. 1. &
Menachot, fol. 71. 1. we read of sycamore trees in Jericho; and of the men of
Jericho allowing the branches of them to be cut down for sacred uses. These
also grew in lower Galilee, but not in upper Galilee; and that they were
frequent in the land of Israel appears from the rules the Misnic doctorsF19Misn.
Shevath, c. 9. sect. 2. & Bava Bathra, c. 2. sect. 7. give about the
planting, and cutting them down; and in the opening of these trees, and making
incisions in them, and in gathering the fruit of them, Amos might be concerned.
Kimchi and Ben Melech say the word signifies to "mix", and that his
business was to mix these together with other fruit. Aben Ezra observes, that
in the Arabic language it signifies to dry; and then his work was, after he had
gathered them, to lay them a drying. Some render the word a
"searcher"F20בזלס
"disquirens", Montanus, Vatablus; "perquirens", Junius
& Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Burkius. So R. Sol. Urbin Ohel Moed, fol.
31. 2. of them; as if his employment was to look out for them, and seek them
where they were to be got: however, be this as it will, the prophet suggests
that he had been used to a low life, and to mean fare, with which he was
contented, and did not take up this business of prophesying for bread, and
could return to his former employment without any regret, to get a maintenance,
if so was the will of God. The Targum gives it a different sense,

"for
I am a master of cattle, and have sycamores in the fields;'

and
so Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, represent him as suggesting that he was
rich, and had no need of bread to be given him, or to prophesy for that.

Amos 7:1515 Then
the Lord
took me as I followed the flock, And the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy
to My people Israel.’YLT15and Jehovah taketh me from
after the flock, and Jehovah saith unto me, Go, prophesy unto My people Israel.

And the Lord took me as I followed the flock,.... Or
"from behind" itF21מאתריצאן "de post pecus", Montanus; "de post
gregem", Vatablus; "a post gregem", Liveleus. ; a description of
a shepherd, such an one Amos was, and in this employ when the Lord called him,
and took him to be a prophet; he did not seek after it, nor did he take this
honour to himself; by which it appears that his mission was divine, and that he
did not enter on this work with lucrative views: thus God took David in a like
state of life, and made him king of Israel; and Elisha from the plough, and
made him a prophet: and Christ several of his disciples from being fishermen,
and made them fishers of men, or ministers of the word; and so their call
appeared more clear and manifest;

and the Lord said unto me; in a vision or dream by
night; or by an articulate voice he heard; or by an impulse upon his spirit,
which comes from the Spirit of God:

go, prophesy unto my people Israel; for so they were by
profession, and notwithstanding their apostasy; as yet they were not tallied
"Loammi", Hosea 1:9; to these
the prophet was bid to go out of the land of Judea, where he was a herdsman,
and prophesy in the name of the Lord to them; wherefore what he did was in
obedience to the command of God, and he did but his duty; and what he in this
verse and Amos 7:14 declares,
is a sufficient vindication of himself, his character, and conduct; and having
done this, he has something to say to the priest, as follows.

Amos 7:1616 Now
therefore, hear the word of the Lord: You say, ‘Do not
prophesy against Israel, And do not spout against the house of Isaac.’

YLT16And now, hear a word of
Jehovah: thou art saying, Do not prophesy against Israel, nor drop [any thing]
against the house of Isaac,

Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord,.... Which I
have from him concerning thee, and which he has pronounced upon thee and thy
family:

thou sayest, prophesy not against Israel; when God has
bid me prophesy:

and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac; say nothing
against it, though in ever so soft and gentle a manner: it designs the same
thing as before, only in different words; and is a prohibition of the prophet
to prophesy against the ten tribes that descended from Isaac, in the line of
Jacob. So the Targum paraphrases it,

"thou
shalt not teach against the house of Isaac;'

or
deliver out any prophecy or doctrine that is against them, or threatens them
with any calamity. Jarchi says the phrase is expressive of prophecy; see Deuteronomy 32:2.

Amos 7:1717 “Therefore
thus says the Lord:
‘Your wife shall be a harlot in the city; Your sons and daughters shall fall by
the sword; Your land shall be divided by survey line; You shall die in a
defiled land; And Israel shall surely be led away captive From his own land.’”

YLT17therefore thus said
Jehovah: Thy wife in the city doth go a-whoring, And thy sons and thy daughters
by sword do fall, And thy land by line is apportioned, And thou on an unclean
land diest, And Israel certainly removeth from off its land.'

Therefore thus saith the Lord,.... For withstanding the
prophet of the Lord, and forbidding him to speak in his name against the
idolatry of Israel, as well as for his own idolatry:

thy wife shall be an harlot in the city: either of
Bethel or Samaria; either through force, being ravished by the soldiers upon
taking and plundering the city; so Theodoret and others: or rather of choice;
either, through poverty, to get bread, or through a vicious inclination, and
that in a public manner: the meaning is, that she should be a common strumpet;
which must be a great affliction to him, and a just punishment for his
idolatry, or spiritual adultery; this must be before the siege and taking of
Samaria, since by that time the priest's wife would be too old to be used as a
harlot:

and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword; either of
Shallum, who smote Zachariah the son of Jeroboam with the sword, before the
people, and very probably many of his friends with him, among whom this family
was; or of Menahem, who slew Shallum, and destroyed many places that opened not
to him, with their inhabitants, and ripped up the women with child; or in the
after invasions by Pul, Tiglathpileser, and Shalmaneser, 2 Kings 15:10;

and thy land shall be divided by line; either the
whole land of Israel be lived in, or the land that was in the possession of
this priest, and was his own property; this should be measured with a line, and
be parted among foreigners, that should invade the land, and subdue it; a just
punishment of the sins he had been guilty of, in getting large possessions in
an ill manner:

and thou shall die in a polluted land; not in his
own land, reckoned holy, but in a Heathen land, which was accounted defiled,
because the inhabitants of it were uncircumcised and idolaters, and he was no
better; perhaps the land of Assyria, whither he might with others be carried
captive; or some other land he was forced to flee into:

and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land; as he had
before prophesied, and here confirms it; and which was fulfilled in the times
of Hoshea king of Israel, by Shalmaneser king of Assyria, 2 Kings 17:6.